Category: WW2 Era (1939-45)

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Bomber Command to Royal Command: A Lancaster Pilot’s Journey from Bomber Raids to Civil Aviation Pioneer

Coming soon from Air World is From Bomber Command to Royal Command: A Lancaster Pilot’s Autobiography: Thousand Bomber Raid’s to Civil Aviation Trailblazer, which tells the story of Albert “Johnny” Meagher from his service flying dozens of missions over Germany through introducing the Bristol Britannia airliner into BOAC service and flying royalty.

Though he was in a reserved occupation, Albert Meagher, known to everyone as ‘Johnny’, volunteered for training as a pilot and was called up in July 1941. He duly completed his training as an RAF bomber pilot and joined the Avro Lancaster-equipped 61 Squadron in June 1942.

Johnny’s first operational sortie – an attack on Bremen – came on the 25th of the month. During the next six weeks Meahger’s crew attacked eleven more cities including Frankfurt, Munich, Kiel and the industrial targets in the Ruhr. On 16 January 1943, Bomber Command attacked Berlin, and for the raid the prominent American NBC reporter, Stan Richardson, was assigned to Meagher’s crew. After 34 sorties over Germany, it might be thought that Squadron Leader Meagher would have sought a less precarious posting. But nothing was further from his mind. Instead, he flew another 20 missions before finally leaving the frontline to become an instructor. Continue reading Bomber Command to Royal Command: A Lancaster Pilot’s Journey from Bomber Raids to Civil Aviation Pioneer

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Tidal Wave: Highly Anticipated Saga of Courage and Survival in WW2 Now Available

Now available from NYT Bestselling author Adam Makos and Ballantine Books is Tidal Wave: The Pilots, the Princess, and the Enemy Ace – A True Story of Courage and Survival in WWII.

It’s summer 1943, and the world is on fire. Lieutenant Ernie Poulson, a twenty-two-year-old outdoorsman from Utah, finds himself at the controls of America’s most advanced bomber, the B-24, brought to North Africa for a top-secret mission. On the far side of Europe, Lieutenant Constantin Cantacuzino, Romania’s most daring ace, duels Soviet fighters on the Eastern Front while searching for purpose in an unwinnable war.

In Nazi-aligned Romania, Princess Catherine Caradja walks a perilous line between loyalty to her country and quiet defiance, as German forces dig in around the oil refineries in her backyard. And in the royal palace, twenty-one-year-old King Michael of Romania—mocked and sidelined by a Nazi-backed dictator—quietly plots to seize his nation’s destiny before it is lost forever. Continue reading Tidal Wave: Highly Anticipated Saga of Courage and Survival in WW2 Now Available

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Coming Soon: MiniArt’s Highly Detailed P-47N-2-RE Thunderbolt Advanced Kit

MiniArt will soon release a new P-47N-2-RE Thunderbolt advanced kit in 1/48 scale.

The P-47N-2-RE was a rocket-equipped modification of Republic’s long-range P-47N fighter: specifically, an early P-47N-1-RE retrofitted with underwing rocket-launching stubs rather than a separate new-production model. Developed for the vast distances of the Pacific during World War II, the P-47N featured enlarged, squared-tip wings with additional fuel capacity, enabling long-range missions including B-29 bomber escort. Powered by a turbo-supercharged Pratt & Whitney R-2800 radial engine producing up to 2,800 horsepower, it combined eight .50-caliber machine guns with bomb- and rocket-carrying capability, making it a heavily armed escort and ground-attack aircraft during the war’s final Pacific campaigns.

The upcoming release (48066) is described as “highly detailed” with realistic metal surface, fine rivet and panel details. It includes photo-etched parts and marking options for four aircraft. As of this writing, an exact release date has not yet been announced.

Check out box contents and livery profiles below.

Continue reading Coming Soon: MiniArt’s Highly Detailed P-47N-2-RE Thunderbolt Advanced Kit

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New Book Compiles Air Combat Recollections From Pilots in Every Theater of WW2

Coming soon from Air World and author Martin Bowman is Voices in Flight: Squadrons Scramble!: RAF and Commonwealth Fighter Pilots of the Second World War, which offers air combat stories and follows fighter pilots scrambling under alarms, from southern England and Malta to the Blitz.

Feel your pulse race and your heart pound as you follow the pilots of The Few running for their aircraft as the alarms sound and the enemy attack for a second time on a day of glory and death over the sunny skies of southern England. Then, beyond the Spitfire Summer of 1940, how the RAF’s pilots scrambled to defy the enemy over the battered ruins of Malta, the George Cross Island, or to defend Britain at night during the blacked out months of the Blitz.

The prelude to D-Day, the disastrous raid on Dieppe was the scene of the RAF’s biggest air battle up to that point in the war, and Operation Overlord was shielded by the overwhelming aerial might of the 2nd Tactical Air Force. All these momentous events are told through the words of those pilots who fought in the unforgiving arena of the dogfight where a single moment can turn victory into defeat, life into certain death. Continue reading New Book Compiles Air Combat Recollections From Pilots in Every Theater of WW2

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Eduard Releases 1/32 Malcolm Hood P-51B/C Mustang Hybrid Kit With Resin, Plastic Parts

Eduard has released a new “Hybrid Edition” P-51B/C Mustang (Malcolm Hood) model kit in 1/32 scale.

The P-51B and P-51C Mustangs fitted with the Malcolm Hood were modified versions of the Merlin-powered, long-range Allied fighters used in Europe from late 1943. Their distinctive British-made, bulged Perspex canopy replaced the original framed, hinged cockpit hood with a rearward-sliding design, providing more headroom and improved sideways and rearward visibility while retaining the “razorback” fuselage. Fitted to many USAAF P-51B/Cs and RAF Mustang IIIs, the Malcolm Hood was a canopy modification rather than a separate production variant. Both types carried four .50-caliber machine guns and combined strong high-altitude performance with the range needed to escort bombers deep into Germany; the improved canopy helped pilots maintain situational awareness before the later P-51D introduced its characteristic bubble canopy.

Eduard’s new release (932013) includes Eduard plastic parts, PE parts, resin parts (cockpit, undercarriage bays, wheels, guns, exhausts), painting masks and Eduard decals with marking options for five aircraft.

Click here to buy the kit on eBay. Check out box contents and livery profiles below.

Continue reading Eduard Releases 1/32 Malcolm Hood P-51B/C Mustang Hybrid Kit With Resin, Plastic Parts

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New Book Studies How Pubs and Clubs Sustained WW2 Pilots During Britain’s Darkest Hour

Coming soon from Air World and author Justin Omps is Pubs, Pilots, and the Battle of Britain: Churchill’s ‘Few’ Living Life to the Full in Britain’s Darkest Hour. As the title suggests, the book deals with fighter pilots’ reliance on pubs and clubs as lifelines, from blackout boards to night revelry.

In August 1940, Spitfire pilot Tim Vigors was shot down by a Messerschmitt Bf 109 over Kent. After crash-landing in a field, he realized he would have to pass through London to get back to his squadron’s airfield. He decided there was no rush, called his girlfriend Jill, and hours after nearly dying, he was dancing the night away at London’s fashionable 400 Club.

This juxtaposition of mortal combat and carefree revelry was not unusual – it was daily life for the young men of Fighter Command. Pubs, Pilots, and The Battle of Britain reveals how Britain’s pubs and clubs became crucial lifelines during the Battle of Britain. These weren’t just places to drink – they were unofficial messes, refuges where fear and grief could be drowned in camaraderie, becoming even the centres of squadron identity. At the White Hart in Brasted, Biggin Hill, pilots signed the now-famous blackout board that became a roll call of Britain’s aerial defenders. At the Cat & Custard Pot near RAF Hawkinge, pilots who flew cover during the Dunkirk evacuation found momentary peace in its ancient rooms. Continue reading New Book Studies How Pubs and Clubs Sustained WW2 Pilots During Britain’s Darkest Hour

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Dora Wings Releases New P-47D-1 Thunderbolt (Razorback) Kit With Plastic, Resin and PE Parts

Dora Wings has released their new P-47D-1 Thunderbolt (Razorback) model kit in 1/48 scale.

The P-47D-1 was an early production version of the American WW2 fighter, distinguished by its “razorback” fuselage—a raised spine behind the cockpit that restricted rearward visibility. Powered by a turbo-supercharged Pratt & Whitney R-2800 radial engine and armed with eight .50-caliber machine guns, it combined strong high-altitude performance, formidable firepower, and a rugged airframe capable of absorbing substantial damage. The D-1’s principal improvement over the preceding P-47C-2 was additional engine-cowling flaps for better cooling; 105 were built at Republic’s Farmingdale factory. It belonged to the early Thunderbolt generation that established the type as a capable bomber escort, before later versions expanded its celebrated ground-attack role.

The new kit (DW48056) includes 138 plastic parts, 28 photo-etched detail parts, 3 resin parts and decals with marking options for four aircraft. Click here to buy on eBay, and look below for livery profiles and kit contents photos.

Continue reading Dora Wings Releases New P-47D-1 Thunderbolt (Razorback) Kit With Plastic, Resin and PE Parts

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A&A Models to Release New P-61C Black Widow “Project Thunderstorm” Kit

A&A Models has announced the upcoming release of a new Northrop P-61C Black Widow model kit in 1/72 scale.

The P-61C was the final production version of America’s first purpose-built night fighter, a large, twin-engine, twin-boom aircraft that used onboard radar to find enemy aircraft in darkness. Developed to improve the earlier P-61A and B models’ speed and high-altitude performance, it featured more powerful turbosupercharged engines and wing-mounted air brakes, reaching roughly 430 mph. Its heavy armament comprised four 20 mm cannons beneath the fuselage and four .50-caliber machine guns in an upper turret. Only 41 production examples were delivered, beginning in July 1945—too late to see combat in World War II—and they subsequently served mainly in testing and research, including thunderstorm studies.

The new kit (7249) represents the P-61C in thunderstorm research and includes 154 plastic parts, photo-etched parts, painting masks (canopy and wheels), and decals with two marking options. It is currently scheduled for release in mid-December.

(via A&A Models)

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Storm from the Sky 1941: The German Aerial Invasion of Crete and its Impact on WW2 Aerial Tactics

Coming soon from Pen and Sword and authors Jeffrey Plowman and Mark M J Wilson is The Battle of Crete: Storm from the Sky 1941: Then and Now, and analysis of the German airborne invasion of Crete, detailing the battle’s chaos, defenders’ resolve, and the operation’s lasting impact on WWII airborne tactics.

Operation Merkur, the German airborne invasion of Crete, is an iconic operation in military history. It pitched an elite airborne division against Creforce, a rag-tag force of British and Commonwealth escapees from Greece. The outcome to the Germans seemed assured. Yet, not only had the Germans underestimated the size of the defending force, they lacked an appreciation of the willingness to fight of the defenders, and had wrongly understood the reception they would receive from the Cretan civilians. To add to their woes their uniforms were ill-suited to the climate and other conditions they were to encounter on the island, and the dropping of their primary weapons in separate containers proved to be a grave doctrinal error.

For many of the fallschirmjäger, the events of the first day ensured that this turned into a struggle for their own personal survival as the need for water and ammunition became paramount, while being hunted by Allied troops and civilians alike. It was a disaster and could have been fatal to the invader, except for the intransigence in the higher levels of command of their foes. Continue reading Storm from the Sky 1941: The German Aerial Invasion of Crete and its Impact on WW2 Aerial Tactics

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Arma Hobby Releases PZL P.11c Kit With 3D Printed Details, Four Liveries

Arma Hobby has released a new PZL P.11c “Pursuit Brigade” model kit in 1/72 scale.

The PZL P.11c was a Polish single-seat fighter of the mid-1930s, distinguished by its all-metal construction, high-mounted gull wings, open cockpit, and fixed landing gear. Powered by a Bristol Mercury radial engine, it reached about 375 km/h (233 mph) and carried two or four 7.92 mm machine guns. An advanced design when introduced, it had become obsolete as faster fighters entered service, yet remained Poland’s principal fighter when Germany invaded in September 1939, bearing much of the country’s air-defense effort against the Luftwaffe.

The kit (70018) includes includes fine 3D-printed details replacing the photo-etched parts from the earlier edition, and Cartograf decals with marking options for four aircraft representing all four squadrons of the Polish Pursuit Brigade: 111, 112, 113 and 114.

The kit is now available (Buy on eBay). Check out livery profiles and kit contents below.

Continue reading Arma Hobby Releases PZL P.11c Kit With 3D Printed Details, Four Liveries

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